Dialogue Creative Writing Exercises

Many writers shy away from dialogue. This bunch of exercises will focus on improving the way you write dialogue, maybe even teach you not to be afraid of it.

1) Take a notebook and go to a museum, a grocery store, a fast food restaurant, a mall - somewhere there are a lot of people. Go with the intention of eavesdropping on a conversation. You probably won’t hear anything really exciting or out of the ordinary, but it is your job to make it exciting and out of the ordinary. Take a scrap of conversation you overheard and rewrite it to make it part of a story.

2) Pick 2 characters out of a story you’ve written. Have these characters meet and talk to each other. Have them converse in such a manner that your reader will be sure and feel sympathy for each of them.

3) A dark alley would be considered a normal setting for a thriller, as would a deserted house for a horror story. A café in Paris or a bright, sunny beach would be considered a normal setting for a romance. Take 2 characters, place them in a setting that would not be considered normal for the genre, and convey the emotions you want to get across to your readers through their conversation. Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, I suggest a romance set in a dark, creepy alley or inside a haunted house.

4) Take 2 or more of your characters and have them argue about something they feel passionate about. Allow the dialogue to increase the tension between the characters to the point that it destroys any kind feelings they once had for each other.

5) A mother and father are discussing their son. He has been accused of stealing petty items from many of the other students at his private school. Write their conversation, only alluding to but never naming, the accusation towards their son. Be sure and allow it to come through whether or not they believe their son is capable of committing these thefts.

6) A father and son are camping in the woods, far away from anyone or anything. The father realizes they are being watched by someone that is a threat to them. He must somehow convince his son they need to pack up and leave without scaring him, since he doesn’t want to alert whoever is watching them. How does the father convince the son to leave quietly with him? Write the conversation between the father and son.

7) Two women meet for the first time. Write a conversation between them, dialogue only, that lets your reader know where they are, the circumstances under which they are meeting, what each of the women look like and why they feel kindly towards each other.